Offset basin wrench



April 26, 1955 PAULSQN 2,706,921

OFFSET BASIN WRENCH Filed Feb 17, 1954 I INVENTOR. JOHN T PAULSON United States Patent OFFSET BASIN WRENCH John T. Paulson, Carlton, Oreg.

Application February 17, 1954, Serial No. 410,760

' 1 Claim. 01. 81-45) This invention relates to wrenches, and more particularly to offset wrenches for reaching into inaccessible laces.

p In the disconnecting of lavatory faucets or the like, it is difficult to tighten or loosen the nuts which clamp the faucets to the lavatory bowl, because the nuts are recessed up behind the bowl within a small space.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide an offset wrench that can be inserted upwardly behind the bowl and applied to the nut.

It is another object of the invention to provide an offset wrench having simplicity of design, economy of construction and efficiency in operation.

The novel features that are considered characteristic of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claim. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several figures and in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of my new and improved wrench;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken vertically through a lavatory bowl and illustrating the application of the wrench to a nut holding the water faucet to a lavatory bowl;

Figure 3 is a frequency expolded view of the jaws of the wrench:

Figure 4 is a fragmentary end view of the handle end of the wrench:

Figure 5 is a plan view of a modified wrench jaw;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Figure 5 of the jaw, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary exploded view of a modified form of handle for the working jaw of the wrench.

Referring now to the drawing, specifically to Figure 1, a wrench in accordance with the present invention comprises a tubular shaftlike body 1 having a laterally extending jaw 2 fixed at one end and a handle 3 fixed at the other end and extending laterally in a direction substantially opposite that of the jaw 2. A shaft 4 is journalled within the tubular body 1 and extends substantially the full length thereof, as shown in Figure 3. A jaw 5 extends laterally from one end of the shaft 4 for cooperation with the jaw 2, and a handle 9 extends laterally in the opposite direction at the other end of the shaft 4 to be jointly gripped with the handle 3 in the manner of p iers.

The tubular body 1 has substantially diametrical rabbets 1 at each end to respectively accommodate the jaws 5 and the handle 9 and permit these parts to be substantially coplanar with the jaw 2 and handle 3 respectively. To permit insertion of the shaft 4 into the tubular body 1, the jaw 5 or handle 9, or both, must be removably mounted. According to the preferred construction, the jaw 5 is removably mounted as shown in Figure 3, the jaw having a bore 5 for receiving a stem portion 6 on the end of the shaft 4, the jaw being retained by a screw ice 7 threaded into an internally threaded bore 8 in the stem 6. The jaw 5 and stem 6 are keyed together as by the usual interfitting teeth or other known key arrangements.

If the jaw 5 is removably mounted, the handle 9 may be integral with the shaft 4 as shown in Figure 4. Conversely, the handle may be removably mounted, as shown in Figure 7, wherein the handle 9 is provided with a socket bore 17 for receiving the stem 15 on the shaft 4 and retained by a screw (not shown) cooperative with an internally threaded bore 16 in the stem 15. In lieu of recessing or rabbeting the end of the tubular body 1 to accommodate the jaw and handle, these parts may have offsets such as the offset 19in the handle 9 as shown in Figure 7.

The handles each may have the usual spurs 20 extending toward each other for retaining the usual spring 10. The jaws 2 and 5 may have the usual corrugations or teeth 11 on their working faces. To prevent abrasion of the edges of the nuts or the like during use of the wrench, these teeth or co'frugations, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, may comprise inserts 13 formed of hard rubber or the like, having teeth 11 thereon and being secured in recesses 14 in the jaws.

In operation, the wrench is used for work in recesses and other inaccessible places. One of the principal uses is in connection with the assembling of faucets on sinks and bowls, as shown in Figure 2. In this case, the faucet F is secured to the bowl B by a nut N surrounding the pipe and as the bowl B is usually fitted to a wall W the nut N is inaccessible, or at least difiicult to grip with the ordinary tooth. With the present wrench however, the jaw end of the wrench is inserted up into the recess between the bowl B and the wall W and the jaws 2 and 5 are gripped on the nut N by pressing the handles 3 and 9 toward each other, the elongated body 1 enabling the handles to be located in an area affording freedom of movement even though the working jaws are within a restricted area.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that many modifications thereof are possible. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in so far as is necessitate? by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended c am.

That which is claimed as new is:

An offset basin wrench for manipulating nuts hidden from view comprising an elongated tubular body, an arcuate shaped toothed jaw extending laterally and formed integrally with one end of the body, a handle formed integrally and extending laterally from the other end of the body, a shaft journalled in said tubular body, an arcuate-shaped reversely-positioned toothed jaw extending laterally from one end of said shaft and in cooperative relation with said first-mentioned jaw, a handle integral with said shaft and extending laterally from the other end of the shaft and in cooperative relation with said first-mentioned handle, a spring, and spurs extending toward each other from said handles to retain said spring in place between the handles; said tubular body being cut away at each end and on the side opposite the jaw and handle respectively, the jaw and handle on said shaft extending through said cut away portions and being coplanar with the jaw and handle respectively on said body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 818,869 Calvert Apr. 24, 1906 1,692,077 Cochran Nov. 20, 1928 1,795,048 Schuh Mar. 3, 1931 2,082,699 Keppinger June 1, 1937 2,166,449 Sharpe July 18, 1939 

